Sandbags Available to Kalamazoo Residents to Deal with Record Flood + Shelter Information

The Kalamazoo River is set to crest at record levels due to the Flood of February 2018. The city is offering sandbags to residents in an attempt to protect vulnerable property.

The National Weather Service is forecasting the Kalamazoo river to crest above record flood level. The current record for the river at Comstock is 10.9 feet above flood stage. A Saturday morning crest of 11.4 feet is expected.

Flooding has already resulted in a number of road closures and additional closures are expected. Residents are advised to use Oakland Drive, Sprinkle Road, US-131, Portage Street or Lovers Lane to travel north or south whenever possible. Bronson Hospital remains accessible via a signed detour along Portage Road and Lovell Street. Motorists should not drive their vehicles through flooded streets.

Outside of Kalamazoo, M-96 is closed between Augusta and Battle Creek through the Fort Custer region.

Flooding has also affected other major rivers in Southwest Michigan and Northern as the St Joseph has overflowed in Burlington in Calhoun County as well as brought devastating floods to Elkhart and Niles.